Jason Sosa officially entered his training camp in Cherry Hill, New Jersey this week to prepare for his upcoming fight with Stephen Smith which takes place on Nov. 12 in the exotic setting of Monte Carlo.

The 28-year-old junior lightweight hails from nearby Camden – but is of Puerto Rican descent – isn’t unduly concerned about once again heading overseas having shocked Javier Fortuna in June with an 11th-round come from behind stoppage in Beijing.

“To fight a great world champion like Fortuna, I thank him so much for giving me the opportunity to become a world champion [Editors Note: THE RING recognizes WBA “super champion” Jezreel Corrales as the WBA titleholder at 130-pounds],” Sosa told RingTV.com. “It was a beautiful experience to fight a top guy and not only fight him but before him I fought Nicholas Walters, so now I’m fighting two top guys back-to-back and to come out victorious June 24 is a big accomplishment. I’m not to be played with, I’m a very professional guy when it comes to boxing and fighting. I’m excited for Nov. 12.”

Sosa’s co-promoter, noted veteran J Russell Peltz, was in China with his fighter and despite seeing Sosa down on the scorecards, always felt the heavy-handed puncher could pull something out of the bag.

“Jason’s very powerful, he can hurt you with every punch, body and head, he goes to the body a lot. That’s why he was always in the fight in Beijing no matter what or how far behind he was on points,” offered the 2004 International Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee.

“I believe it’s the only sport where you can be that far behind with time running out and still have a chance to win and that’s one of the best things about boxing…the drama. The old saying, ‘It’s not over till it’s over.’ that’s true in boxing, you can be behind in football, basketball, soccer, if you’re down 5-0 in a soccer match and there’s only a minute to go you’re not going to win, in boxing you can do that.”

Peltz feels the Fortuna win could be a watershed moment for Sosa.

“I actually believe he grew up in the Fortuna fighter and he actually realized that he can be in the mix with the best 130-pounders in the world,” mused Peltz. “Being in that fight and going the to limit. I’m not going to tell you he didn’t win the fight but also not going to tell you it wasn’t 9-1 or 10-0 [in rounds at the time of the stoppage].

“It gave him the confidence that he can compete on that level. In the Fortuna fight I kept yelling from my seat, ‘Don’t lose focus.’ no matter how far you’re behind and he didn’t, he wasn’t worried he was behind, I’m not even sure he thinks he was behind but we know he was. He kept trying and he got through.”

Despite the career best win “El Canito” is still the same man as he was before hand.

“Honestly, nothing’s changed. I’m still the same humble guy,” said the RING’s No. 10-ranked junior lightweight, whose record stands at 19-1-4 (15 knockouts). “Being a world champion hasn’t changed me. I do feel that I’m a world champion. The only thing that’s changed is I’ve got more experience and I’m going to look different November 12th, that’s the key for every fight, every fight you want to grow, and we are accomplishing that as a team and we’re very happy with how we’re growing.”

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